Podcast for "Communications & Government Relations: Finding the Intersection of PR and Advocacy to Reach Policymakers and Win on Issues”

In case you missed the April 13 PRSA-NCC workshop "Communications & Government Relations: Finding the Intersection of PR and Advocacy to Reach Policymakers and Win on Issues,” the podcast for the event is posted at http://www.prsa-ncc.org/blogcategory/new_media_downloads/

Nominate Someone for WWPR New Emerging Leaders Awards

Nomination Deadline is April 30

Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) has created an Emerging Leaders Awards program to honor three outstanding young women each year in the D.C. area who have demonstrated excellence and achievement in public relations, communications and related fields.
The Emerging Leaders Awards recognizes rising stars in the industry, showcasing the field's most talented young women for their professional accomplishments.

To be eligible, nominees must be ages 21-35 on June 1, 2010, and work in a communications or marketing-related field or a communications-related job function. Self-nominations are encouraged.

The three outstanding Emerging Leaders recipients will be honored on Tuesday, June 15 at Social, at 6:30 p.m. at a cocktail reception and awards ceremony. Kirsten Suto Seckler (pictured at left), a 2009 Washington PR Woman of the Year honoree and Vice President, Branding & Communications, Special Olympics, will be the emcee.

The Nomination Form and more information are available at www.wwpr.org.

Grab the Glory, Apply for a Thoth

You know you deserve it. You and the Egyptians are standard bearers. Get your entries for the 42nd Annual PRSA-NCC Thoth Awards Competition ready for submission now, get a great discount and avoid the last-minute rush.
Named for the Egyptian god of communication, the Thoth Awards recognize the most outstanding public relations programs and components developed and produced in the Greater Washington area. Winners from corporations, government agencies, trade associations, public relations firms and non-profits, both large and small, will be selected in 34 categories for communications campaigns and tactics. Share your winning work with the community.
PRSA-NCC and Washington Women in Public Relations are presenting “Award Entry Writing for PR Professionals” at the Press Club on May 20. To register, visit www.wwpr.org.
PRSA-NCC is now accepting entries for the 2010 Thoth Awards. The early bird deadline is Friday, June 4, 2010 and the standard deadline is Friday, June 18, 2010. Visit http://www.prsa-ncc.org/thoth_awards/ for more information on categories and rules.
Thoth winners will be honored and feted at an elegant Thoth Gala on September 23 at the Willard Hotel. Enter by June 4 and get a $20 discount on your first entry and Gala ticket.
If you are interested in judging the Thoth’s this year, please contact Susan Apgood at sapgood@newsgeneration.com. Judging will take place in late June.

Tourism Communications: It's Not Just for Tourists Anymore!

CAPITAL COMMUNICATORS GROUP (CCG)
APRIL PROGRAM

WHEN: Tuesday, April 27th Noon - 1:30 p.m.
WHERE: Elephant & Castle, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave, NW DC (Metro Stop: Metro Center)
COST: $25 ~ Cash only; exact change preferred.

They're back! April kicks off tourist season in Washington, D.C., but for many local "tourism" organizations, marketing and communications is no longer just about reaching the out-of-towners. Instead, these professionals are increasingly being tasked with ensuring that they draw a local crowd to events as well. Come learn more about how some of our local tourism organizations are undertaking the challenges of reaching new audiences with their message.

SPEAKERS:
* Pat Wheeler, Director of Marketing,
Cultural Tourism DC (pictured right)
* Barbara Bahny David, Director of Public Relations, Intercontinental Hotel Group (pictured left)

RSVP to: capitalcommunicator@gmail.com

IABC DC/Metro Opens Call for Silver Inkwell Entries

It's awards time once again. Get those entries in early and save a few bucks to celebrate with later if you win.

IABC/DC Metro (International Association of Business Communicators) Silver Inkwell submissions are accepted across 64 categories and a panel of judges (area communication professionals) will name an Award of Excellence (first place) or one or more Awards of Merit for each category. In addition, one overall winner may be given the “Best of the Best” Award ~ the “best in show” equivalent ~ if the judges feel the entry merits it.

Winners will be announced in advance of the Silver Inkwell Awards Gala on Tuesday, October 26, 2010, to be held at the Hyatt Regency Bethesda.

Each entry for the 2010 Silver Inkwells must have been produced for use between June 1, 2009, and May 31, 2010. You may enter as many work samples as you wish, or a single work sample in multiple categories as appropriate.

To get started, download the Entry Form. For more information, visit IABC/DC Metro's awards page or contact IABC/DC Metro Silver Inkwell Award co-chairs Lauren Lawson or Michael Clendenin at silverinkwell@iabcdcmetro.org.

AWC-DC Matrix Celebration Moves to Evening

The Association of Women in Communications, DC Chapter Presents the Matrix Awards at a Cocktail Reception Wednesday May 19th at The National Press Club.

This year's event is going a bit more elegant and upscale as a cocktail reception after work rather than as a business luncheon.


AWC-DC Matrix Awards Will be Presented to Two Honorees: WUSA9 weekday morning anchor Andrea Roane and Washington PR icon Gloria Story Dittus who just launched new public affairs firm Story Partners.

The evening will be emceed by Kate Perrin, CEO of PRofessional Solutions, LLC, Washington's public relations temporary staffing agency (yes, that's me, your The Capital Buzz correspondent!). PRofessional Solutions is sponsoring the Matrix Scholarship for the third year. The winning student will be presented that evening.

Put this event on your calendar. Details concerning ticket costs and how to make a reservation are still to come.

Waggener Edstrom Worldwide Offers Free White Paper: How to Bring Sustainable Digital Communications to Life

Their opening failed to grab me because I didn’t know what they were talking about: “Social media marketing is under attack. The culprit: ‘zombie’ marketing tactics that go nowhere, fail to engage audiences and bypass internal processes. This rogue behavior is crippling brands from harnessing digital communications' inherent potential.”

Huh?

Then there was more indecipherable babble as they said their new “plug-and-play matrix enables any brand to synthesize its content creation, audience engagement and media publishing with internal processes.”

But finally, at the bottom of the pitch email from PR Week there was a brief but clear statement:
“In this white paper you will learn:
• Why most social media marketing efforts fail
• How to improve your social media marketing success rate
• The five steps to your Social Influence System"

I checked it out, and after a couple of silly graphic illustrations in the opening, this Waggener Edstrom White Paper actually does outline the five steps clearly and sensibly. You can download this white paper for free.

FREE webinar, "How To Build A Successful Online Community."

Date: Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Time: 1:00 p.m.

Are you trying to create and build an online community, but are not sure where to start? BurrellesLuce and HAPPO (Help A PR PRO Out) present fundamentals of building an online community around a shared passion.

Learn how to:

• Create and grow an online social media event
• Build community around and momentum for the event
• Engage key influencers to participate and communicate effectively
• Measure the success of the event
• Maintain the passion and inspiration post-event.

Speakers:
HAPPO Co-founders:
Arik Hanson , APR principal, ACH Communications

Valerie Merahn Simon , senior vice president-sales, BurrellesLuce Moderator: Johna Burke, senior vice president, marketing, BurrellesLuce

Register Now – space limited (If they are unable to accept your registration, an on-demand presentation will be available for review after the event at BurrellesLuce.com)

To Blog or Not to Blog: It's No Question for Some

Every now and again I like to explore and/or debate the changing communications landscape. This mostly because it's SO different than when I was working in several DC-based PR firms. To me, it's almost to the point where it's hard to even keep up with the varying social media platforms and their use. However, now that I'm running The Event Planning Group, I do see the benefits and appreciate its power.

I just read "Let's Take this Offline" by Joel Spolsky that appeared in last month's Inc. Magazine. The author is the co-founder and CEO of Fog Creek Software based in New York City. Basically, the article talks about his blogging success over the last 10 years and how it helped him to grow his business. But now, he's getting rid of his blog to concentrate on other forms of marketing. He laments that he's focused entirely on blogging, and believes he's missing out on reaching a larger group of potential customers. Yah think?

I found this article somewhat fascinating. It also reminded me of those companies whose percentage of revenues is held with one primary customer instead of diversifying. While I sometimes can be slow to embrace technology, this does make me ponder how 'going back to the basics' always seems to surface -- especially amidst continued change. That's what it appears to me that Spolsky is doing in shifting toward more traditional forms of marketing.

I remember my PR firm days of developing "integrated marketing" communications plans for clients. But it doesn't seem to me that those days are gone -- they just now include this new media. Even The Event Planning Group has our Meet N' Dish blog and Facebook page in understanding the importance of having a presence in different places. So it's interesting that the one medium that brought him brand awareness and success is being abandoned entirely to pursue other methods. While I'm not going to debate his decision, especially given it's his business and he's doing what he feels is best. But it seems there's something to be said for 'going back to the basics' in adopting a more integrated approach that yields more well-rounded results.